DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

EmergencyNurse · 6 March 2018 at 9:16PM

Hi, I've had an online chat with National Debtline this evening. I'm going to redo my budget and phone them tomorrow and go through it all step by step. DMP was advised as an option. Apart from affecting credit score, defaulting etc. What, if any are the major downsides of doing a DMP? What percentage of your income do you get to keep to live on?

I've been very resistant to the idea of a DMP but everyone seems so positive I've come around to the idea.

Brad23 · 7 March 2018 at 8:12AM

So this week I finally plucked up the courage to contact stepchange as I have found myself in a situation with lots of different creditors and a total payment of over £500/600 a month but due to interest it not really putting a dent in any of my debt. So I have yesterday sent off the paperwork for my DMP with an agreed payment of around £345 a month which is much more manageable. My debt is currently around the 10k mark and hopefully they’ve said I could be debt free within 3 years if everything goes to plan.

So here’s my question - the set up process was so easy, I’ve contacted all of my creditors to let them know that I’m dealing with SC and they’ve all put my accounts on hold whilst the DMP is set up, I’ve changed bank accounts due to an overdraft; I’ve signed all the paperwork and everything and just waiting to hear back from SC to confirm it’s all set up.

My worry is that I’m currently living with parents who don’t know the full extent or the debt (for good reason) and I’m just wondering what will happen following the set up of he DMP, and what I should do it I get threatening letters from any of my creditors? Although the set up process seemed easy surely It won’t be plain sailing all the way through? I’m just starting to double think if I’ve made the right choice as I really don’t want to have a CCJ against me or be taken to court for the money I owe as it would really impact my personal life with my family.

Any advise on what happens next and what I should expect would be much appreciated.

Thankyou

System · 7 March 2018 at 8:12AM

EmergencyNurse wrote: »

Hi, I've had an online chat with National Debtline this evening. I'm going to redo my budget and phone them tomorrow and go through it all step by step. DMP was advised as an option. Apart from affecting credit score, defaulting etc. What, if any are the major downsides of doing a DMP? What percentage of your income do you get to keep to live on?

I've been very resistant to the idea of a DMP but everyone seems so positive I've come around to the idea.

There are no major downsides to a DMP. Your credit rating is going to be screwed anyway if you miss payments....as we were doing just before we started on ours. We were robbing Peter to pay Paul for far too long. A default is a good thing as they drop off after 6 years...some of ours are 3 years in already :T and only feels like yesterday when we started.
You get to keep as much as you need to live on. You can "tweak" your I&E to come up to the maximum allowed in each section it you need to. Your creditors can only have what you can afford and they will all be fine about it. We get letters saying they will review our I&E again in 6 months to make sure we can still afford £1 a month with some! :rotfl:
Also don't take any notice of the DFD that they calculate for you. Ours seemed ages away, but now that we have gone self managed after 3 years with Stepchange, we are saving for F&F's and I am confident that it won't take us that long.:T
I have not come across anybody who has said they regret starting a DMP.
Go for it. You will be able to sleep at night again without worrying how you are going to pay your debts.

System · 7 March 2018 at 8:20AM

Brad23 wrote: »

So this week I finally plucked up the courage to contact stepchange as I have found myself in a situation with lots of different creditors and a total payment of over £500/600 a month but due to interest it not really putting a dent in any of my debt. So I have yesterday sent off the paperwork for my DMP with an agreed payment of around £345 a month which is much more manageable. My debt is currently around the 10k mark and hopefully they’ve said I could be debt free within 3 years if everything goes to plan.

So here’s my question - the set up process was so easy, I’ve contacted all of my creditors to let them know that I’m dealing with SC and they’ve all put my accounts on hold whilst the DMP is set up, I’ve changed bank accounts due to an overdraft; I’ve signed all the paperwork and everything and just waiting to hear back from SC to confirm it’s all set up.

My worry is that I’m currently living with parents who don’t know the full extent or the debt (for good reason) and I’m just wondering what will happen following the set up of he DMP, and what I should do it I get threatening letters from any of my creditors? Although the set up process seemed easy surely It won’t be plain sailing all the way through? I’m just starting to double think if I’ve made the right choice as I really don’t want to have a CCJ against me or be taken to court for the money I owe as it would really impact my personal life with my family.

Any advise on what happens next and what I should expect would be much appreciated.

Thankyou

As long as you continue to make your DMP payments, you will not get threatening letters. You will however get letters, most of them automatically generated standard letters that they have to send you. So yes, be prepared for a lot of letters to come through the post at the start, but they will all be fine. I remember when we first started our DMP and one day we had about 12 letters in one go....we do have 16 different debts between us though.
To start with, not all of ours agreed to stop interest straight away and we had to contact a couple of them a few times, explaining that if they didn't stop it, then how did they expect us to ever pay it off and that all the other creditors had stopped it etc. etc. Eventually they all fell into line.:)

[Deleted User] · 7 March 2018 at 9:31AM

EmergencyNurse wrote: »

Hi, I've had an online chat with National Debtline this evening. I'm going to redo my budget and phone them tomorrow and go through it all step by step. DMP was advised as an option. Apart from affecting credit score, defaulting etc. What, if any are the major downsides of doing a DMP? What percentage of your income do you get to keep to live on?

I've been very resistant to the idea of a DMP but everyone seems so positive I've come around to the idea.

There isn't a set percentage of what you have to live on. Whoever manages your DMP (please use a free one and not one that charges) will need you to fill in an Income and Expenditure form at the outset. Stepchange have an online one that you can play around with until you get it right to suit you before you commit to anything. This details everything that you have to spend money on such as food, petrol, hobbies, prescriptions etc etc.. Make sure you claim for as much as you feel happy with in each category (some people even claim for cigarettes even though they don't smoke;)). Be as creative as you like, they don't ask for receipts etc but I think they do ask for a bank statement at the very start of set-up but even then it's so far back now for me I can't remember:o. The DMP companies set maximums per category depending on your circumstances (single/couple/with children or without) and it flags up a suggestion amount if you are unsure of what to put and will tell you if you are massively over-claiming.

Whatever's left after all your outgoings are added up is what you have left to pay your creditors with. Stepchange, if you let them manage your DMP, will then divide this up and pay your creditors pro rata. Creditors usually accept this as they get a copy of your I&E form and can see that's all you can afford and are paying them fairly.

IANB77 · 7 March 2018 at 11:39AM

Ok so after my letter Bamboo have confirmed they have my stepchange offer and have accepted it. they have also agreed to remove my numbers. However in there email it states this.

"We appreciate you are unable to meet your full contractual payments at this time. We would ask you to refer back to the terms and conditions of your agreement that was signed under the section of missing payments;

‘If you fail to make any Repayment it may have serious consequences. You will have to pay additional charges and may have to repay what you owe early‘

Therefore, we can confirm your account may result in additional interest and late payment charges being applied to the account in accordance with the terms and conditions of the loan agreement."

i take it this mean they are still going to charge me interest and late payment charges etc? They are the only ones that are out of all of them if so. Pretty poor.

Summer12 · 7 March 2018 at 3:24PM

Has anyone else in response to a CCA request received a scanned copy of their original account card application form? It’s from a well known dept store that also sell really good food! From 1998 which is a shame

[Deleted User] · 7 March 2018 at 3:53PM

Summer12 wrote: »

Has anyone else in response to a CCA request received a scanned copy of their original account card application form? It’s from a well known dept store that also sell really good food! From 1998 which is a shame

Yes, I have, in fact I've had 3! Mine were from 3 different credit card companies all taken out pre 2000:(. I think though to be compliant with a CCA request they have to also supply the correct Ts&Cs etc so it doesn't necessarily mean the debt you mentioned is enforceable.

Incidentally, the company you mentioned, if it's who I think it is;), are very efficient in their record-keeping and tracked down 2 really old PPI claims for me when I had no paperwork to go on but just a hunch I may have had PPI . Their customer service was exemplary and they paid out quickly and with no hassle:j.

EmergencyNurse · 7 March 2018 at 4:00PM

I've finally had the sense to speak with StepChange. The relief is immense! Thank you to everyone who provided advice.

January2015 · 7 March 2018 at 4:25PM

IANB77 wrote: »

Ok so after my letter Bamboo have confirmed they have my stepchange offer and have accepted it. they have also agreed to remove my numbers. However in there email it states this.

"We appreciate you are unable to meet your full contractual payments at this time. We would ask you to refer back to the terms and conditions of your agreement that was signed under the section of missing payments;

‘If you fail to make any Repayment it may have serious consequences. You will have to pay additional charges and may have to repay what you owe early‘

Therefore, we can confirm your account may result in additional interest and late payment charges being applied to the account in accordance with the terms and conditions of the loan agreement."

i take it this mean they are still going to charge me interest and late payment charges etc? They are the only ones that are out of all of them if so. Pretty poor.

It's probably a standard letter but write back to them and formally request they default your account as quickly as possibly. Explain the decision to enter a DMP was not taken lightly and you do realise the impact doing so will have on your credit reference files but it is the only realistic way forward to ensure you are able to clear your debts.

Writing won't mean they will default you quickly, but there's no harm in asking. It also lets them know you are more than aware of what a default on your credit file means.

DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

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